China's securities watchdog approved 102 initial public offering (IPO) applications in 2018, down from the record-breaking 401 in 2017, as a way to ensure the quality of listed companies via tightened vetting process.
Companies wrapped up IPO procedures raised an aggregate of 130 billion yuan (18.9 billion U.S. dollars), yet the figure remains a far cry from the 210.5 billion yuan (30.6 billion U.S. dollars) collected in 2017, according to financial information provider Jrj.com.
China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) looks set to get less tolerant of substandard applicants in that merely 111 out of 185 applicants went public in the past year, bringing the country's IPO pass rate to a nine-year low, at 60 percent.
Though the second largest economy is readying a registration-based IPO system, under the current mechanism, consent from the CSRC is still a prerequisite for fresh IPO and equity issues.
On the flip side, Chinese firms swept half of the world's top 10 biggest IPOs last year, with tech firms China Tower, Xiaomi, Foxconn Industrial Internet, Meituan and online entertainment platform iQiyi joinging the list and a surge in overseas flotations.
